Quiddsies
by uprisingdragon
Summary: When Pulitzer publishes an article detailing how dangerous quidditch can be for students, Hogwarts decides to place a temporary ban on the sport. Lead by Jack, Davey, Crutchie, and Katherine, the teams decide that the only way to get their voices heard is to go on a class strike. Will their voices get heard, or will they lose quidditch forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Newsies came out today! In honor of this, I'm planning on writing a short fic revolving around what would happen if the newsies went to Hogwarts. If you want more background on the characters in this au, check out my tumblr saber-dragon! All of the musical Newsies will be making an appearance in some way or another, and I even snuck some of the movie newsies in as well! Anyways, please enjoy!**

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Jack was known to be a bit of a troublemaker, but being called to the headmaster's office the first day of school was a new record for him. Seeing Wiesel was never the highlight of his day, and this little meeting he had arranged was causing all of the teachers and underclassmen to give him knowing looks. Of course Jack Kelly would get called down on the first day of school. So much for putting his best foot forward for his seventh year.

He turned to corner only to find Wiesel's door still closed. Jack would've figured that he should just walk in if it had not been for a lanky Ravenclaw boy standing patiently by the entrance with a book in his hand. Jack rose his eyebrow in confusion and scanned the area before starting up a conversation," What, were you called down too? I didn't know that Ravenclaws got into trouble."

The boy looked up from his scripture with a polite sense of what Jack could only assume was fear," We don't," He stated defensively," I'm assuming that Headmaster Wiesel called me down to talk to me about my duties as prefect this year," He pointed to the shiny badge Jack hadn't noticed before," Maybe he's giving us an explanation together?"

Jack choked out a laugh," Me? As a prefect? I think I'd be the last person they'd choose."

"Oh, I dunno about that, Jackie," Said boy visibly brightened when he turned to see his favorite Hufflepuff hobbling down the hall," If you took school as seriously as you took quidditch, the Gryffindor house would be in great shape!"

Jack and Crutchie went way back. It had been Crutchie's first year going to Hogwarts, and he was so nervous that he didn't notice that his pet rat had escaped. The creature somehow ended up in Jack's compartment, so he gave the first year his pet back and welcomed him to sit with him. To say the two hit it off would be an understatement.

Crutchie turned to the Ravenclaw and sent him a warm grin," Heya Davey! I hear you're captain this year! Congrats!"

The Gryffindor did a double take as he looked from his best friend to this Davey kid," Oh, you gotta be kidding me. This kid is the new Ravenclaw captain?"

"He's Sarah's little brother," His redheaded friend pointed out," I hear he's pretty good at coming up with strategies."

"Thanks Crutchie," Davey sent the Hufflepuff small smile before turning back to Jack. His brow was furrowed as he observed him, his confused look only dissipating because it had transformed into anger," Hold on, I know who you are! You're Jack Kelly! You're the kid that dated my sister three years ago!"

Jack felt his stomach dropped as he was forced to relive the stupid decisions fourth year Jack had made. He was a co-captain that year and was head over heels for the new Ravenclaw Captain, a pretty girl who was great at her craft. They had flirted a little bit back and forth until he finally asked her on a date to Hogsmeade. Things went really well for a month, but Jack had closed up in fear of getting too attached. It was a decision he regretted to this day," Yeah...that was me..."

Crutchie, sensing his best friend's discomfort, changed the subject," So why do you think we're all here?"

"Don't look at me, Davey's the Ravenclaw," Jack nudged said boy," Think up an answer."

"Well, isn't it obvious?" When he was met with the two boys' blank stares, Davey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose," We're all captains this year. It probably has something to do with Quidditch."

Jack ran a hand through his curly brown hair and thought through the boy's theory," If that was true, wouldn't the Slytherin Captain be here too?"

"Oh, I've been here," The three boys practically jumped out of their skins when they were met with the sight of a Slytherin girl primly sitting on the bench on the opposite wall," Headmaster Wiesel wanted me to come ten minutes early, but it looks like he didn't hold up his end of the bargain," She tilted her head towards the still closed door and frowned," If I have to miss my lunch for this, I'm going to send in a formal complaint."

While neither Jack nor Davey seemed to recognize the girl, Crutchie's face lit up with another smile," Heya Katherine! I didn't know you were Captain this year!"

"Jordan nominated me," She replied proudly," He said he admired my work ethic and the way I still played through the game last year when that bludger broke my arm."

Davey's eyes widened, his curiosity grabbing a hold of him," Hold on, you won that game last year! How on earth did they let you keep playing if you broke your arm?"

She glowed with pride as she explained the event," The referee didn't seem to take notice of my injury, so I continued to play through the game. It was only after Slytherin had won that I finally went to the hospital wing."

Suddenly, Jack knew exactly who this girl was. He was brought back to the week before during his mother, Medda's, show. He had climbed up into the private box to keep the pretty girl company, and while she had given him quite the cold shoulder, something about her drew him in. What were the odds that she was not only a wizard like him, but also a quidditch player? Jack felt a grin sneak it's way onto his face," A girl captain on the Slytherin team? That's pretty impressive, seeing that they usually don't even let girls on the team."

Katherine pursed her lips at his comment," Is that sarcasm, Mr. Kelly?"

"Nah, I just think that girls who play quidditch are hot."

"You think that anyone who plays quidditch is hot," Crutchie joked, earning an elbow to the side from his friend. Davey snorted in agreement, but didn't speak up.

Either she didn't hear Crutchie's comment or decided to ignore it, because Katherine turned her attention back to the matter at hand," So, does the administration have a meeting with all of the captains every year, or is this something new?"

Jack frowned and shook his head," I've been captain three years now, and this has never happened."

Before they could ponder what the circumstances of their get together was, the door opened and headmaster Wiesel stepped forward," Good afternoon, Mr. Morris, Mr. Jacobs, Miss Plumber, Mr. Kelly," He opened the door to his office wider and waved them in," Please find a seat."

"Afternoon to you too, Weasel," Jack snickered, earning a glare from the Headmaster. To say the two didn't get along well would be an understatement. It started off with Jack being a reckless first and second year, but one could argue that he was a kid and couldn't know any better. However, the grudge that Wiesel seemed to hold against Jack held firm. He seemed to like getting the Gryffindor in trouble for the littlest things at this point, which only pushed Jack to annoy the man more. It was a lose lose situation that both were too stubborn to give up.

Davey gave him a pointed look that warned Jack to shut up before he got them all in trouble, but Katherine beat him to commenting on it by grabbing him his tie and yanking him down to level to hiss," If you ruin this for us, I'll make you regret it."

Jack chuckled," I didn't know you were this forward, Ace."

She glared at him and pushed him into the office, following behind and closing the door. Crutchie had settled himself in one of the chairs and Davey, being the gentleman he was, had left the other one open for Katherine. She sent him a thankful smile, but waved for the Ravenclaw to take it. Jack didn't seem to catch this exchange and took the seat for himself.

Headmaster Wiesel sat himself down at his own chair and looked from one captain to the next, reading each of their curious expressions before finally speaking up," I assume that you've all read the Daily Prophet as of late?" Jack and Crutchie shared blank looks with each other, Davey's polite smile shifted into a frown, and Katherine's face paled. Wiesel smirked," Well, I'm sure that you can't read, Mr. Kelly, but everybody else seems to be aware of the situation at hand."

"Hey, no need to get-" Crutchie nudged his friend before he said something he would regret later. Jack clenched his jaw in annoyance, but continued in a more civil manner," I can read, thank you very much, but I don't read the papes. Maybe if I was your age-" He received another elbow from Crutchie,"...Fine. What was in the papes?"

"In light of an article written near the end of summer detailing just how dangerous Quidditch can be, Hogwarts has decided to place a brief ban on quidditch until the wizard court can decide whether or not to permanently terminate Quidditch-"

He barely finished his sentence before the room exploded. Jack had shot up from his seat so fast that the chair he was sitting in tipped over, Crutchie's jaw had dropped open so wide that a baseball could fit through it, and even the level-headed Davey had taken a few steps forward to protest," Sir, you cannot make that decision without consulting us first-"

"I can, and I already have," Wiesel responded calmly," It's for the safety of the students-"

The Headmaster was interrupted when Katherine quickly spun on her heel and hightailed it out of the room without a word to anyone. A tense silence finally settled over what was left of the group, prompting Jack to speak up," Okay, that was a fun joke an' all, but I think you've taken it too far."

"I assure you that this is no joke, Mr. Kelly," Wiesel folded his hands neatly before looking at the clock on the wall," But unfortunately, I must ask you to leave my office at this time. I have another meeting in a few minutes. Inform your teams and return to class before the end of lunch."

Crutchie shook his head in disbelief," But that ain't fair! I have kids who were really looking forward to playing!"

Jack suddenly felt a pain of sympathy for his friend. Quidditch was one of the only things Crutchie could do that didn't interfere with his leg, and he knew that a good portion of the Hufflepuff team were misfits in one way or another. He knew without a doubt that they'd be crushed when they heard the news," Can't you at least let us play in our freetime?"

"That is out of the question."

"How? Are you saying that you're banning flying altogether?!"

Wiesel chose not to respond to Crutchie's frantic question and waved the boys out," I don't like repeating myself. Get out or I'll give you all detention."

Davey placed his hands on the boys' shoulders," Come on, there's nothing we can do. Let's get out before we get in trouble."

With the air of defeat, the three turned to exit the room. Could quidditch really be over? Why would they take it away? For Crutchie, quidditch was the one thing that he could be normal at. Nobody thought of him as the lousy crip, but instead the amazing seeker that once ended a game within five minutes. For Davey, Quidditch was his chance to finally prove himself. As much as he loved Sarah, he wanted to make his own legacy. He would be lying if he said he hadn't heard the rumors circulating about how he only recieved his position out of favoritism. This was supposed to be the year that he finally proved them wrong. For Jack, quidditch was the only reason he was still in school. Quidditch captains of the past had taken Jack under their wing and taught him not only to stand up for himself, but for what he believed in.

And there was no way in hell that he was going to let that be taken away.

Jack turned on his heel and glared at the Headmaster, causing the other two boys to look at him in confusion," This isn't the last you'll hear of this, Weasel. I'm not giving up until we've got quidditch players back on the pitch."

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 **So do you guys have any predictions for this story? There hasn't been mention of a strike yet, but knowing Jack, it will come up very soon. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them below! I will have more regarding the story in later chapters, but since today is the first one, I don't have much to say yet. Thanks for reading!**

 **-uprisingdragon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, my good friends! I'm guessing that this will be a 5-6 part story, and I'm planning on including as many newsies as possible! In this chapter, we introduce the co-captains, and can I say that I love these guys? I look forward to writing them interact more with one another. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! This picks up right where the last one left off.**

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"What were you thinking?" Davey berated. The boys had been kicked out of Wiesel's office shortly after Jack's statement, and now they were waiting on the Quidditch pitch for their teams to arrive," We could have gotten detention, or worse, suspension! Don't you care about school at all?" Jack and Crutchie shared an impartial look before shrugging, causing the Ravenclaw to huff," No wonder you aren't prefects."

"Hey, Crutchie was offered the position!" Jack quickly jumped to defend his friend," He just turned it down because he's too nice."

"No, I turned it down because Buttons was obviously the better choice," Crutchie corrected," He's really good with kids."

Jack chuckled," Like I said, he's too nice."

"I can agree with that," A new voice piped up. The boys turned to find a short brunette already dressed in her Hufflepuff quidditch sweater with a bright smile on her face," I don't even think he could hurt a fly."

"I could too, Smalls!" Crutchie whined, but still ruffled his friend's hair playfully," I just have to have a good reason."

Smalls was the co-captain of the Hufflepuff team, and much like Crutchie, had gained herself quite the reputation. She was a scarily skilled beater with her special skill to knock kids out of the way without injuring them. Many people had also whispered that she had gotten into a fight with both of the Delanceys her first year and won. It was odd to see someone so rough be such good friends with the happy-go-lucky Crutchie," Whatever you say, Captain," She lazily glanced over at the other to captains and pouted," Oh, do we have to share the pitch today?"

"Ahh, about that..," Thankfully, the comforting scent of smoke gave Crutchie an escape goat," Hey, here comes Race!"

Jack tried to frown, but couldn't keep the grin off of his face when his co-captain sauntered up to the group," How many times have I told ya' there's no smoking on the pitch, Race?"

"Aw, come on Jackie," Said boy stuck his cigarette between his lips and dramatically placed his hand on his forehead," I'm so nervous for the first practice. What if I fall off my broom and die? I needed a smoke to calm my nerves."

While Race was only a fifth year, he had been Jack's co-captain since his third year. Many people argued that the boy was not qualified in any way and berated Jack for his choice, including Race himself. However, Jack had seen something in the boy that reminded him of himself at that age, and he knew that giving him to position would be a good influence on his chaotic lifestyle. Much to his relief, Race proved himself over the years to be not only reliable, but a solid beater and good friend.

Jack rolled his eyes at his friend and pulled the cigarette out from his teeth before snuffing it out on the ground," Unfortunately, seeing you smoke on my field makes me nervous. We don't want the pitch to catch on fire...again."

"Hey, that's only happened once-"

"And I still have nightmares from it," Davey felt himself relax when his co-captain, Albert, approached the group. The boy with fiery red hair could easily be mistaken for a Slytherin for how sarcastic and blunt he could be, but the boy's quick mind was exactly what got him into the Ravenclaw house. He was a phenomenal beater, only rivaled by the likes of Race and Smalls, and was surprisingly one of the only team members to stand up for Davey when he was crowned captain. While vastly different in personalities, Davey and Albert made a good team," You still owe me a new broom."

"I didn't burn your old one-"

"Yeah, but 'cha singed it."

Smalls groaned before stepping between the boys and addressing the captains," So, why are we all here at once? Is there another safety briefing or something, because we all know how well that went last year," Her fellow co-captains snickered at that while the leaders cringed in remembrance of the catastrophe that took place when all eight practice bludgers got loose on the field. Of course they would think it was funny, Davey thought bitterly; They were all beaters and actually knew how to handle the situation. All he could remember was how he had to walk around with a black eye for a week.

Jack waved for them to calm down and ran his hand through his hair," Just hold on a second, alright? It's best if we tell ya' all at once."

The co-captains didn't seem too satisfied with his vague answer, but none of them protested. Each one of them had an astounding amount of trust in their leaders, and Davey never truly admired that quality in them until that moment. As the minutes ticked by, different students from all of the teams (including Slytherin, despite their captain's absence) began to fill up the pitch. Davey felt his nerves eat away at him as he ran over every way he could let them down easy, but nothing came to mind. Everyone was going to be outraged, and he could do nothing about it.

"Sorry I'm late," After what seemed like an eternity, Katherine finally made her presence known," I had to send an owl to my father."

"Does your team know yet?" Crutchie asked in a hushed tone.

"Honestly, I've been avoiding them since the meeting."

Jack, sensing the other captains' nerves, took it upon himself to lead the meeting," Alright, alright. I don't have all day, and I'd rather tell ya the news in person than have you find out on your own."

Finch, the gryffindor seeker, sensed the seriousness in his captain's tone and frowned," What's wrong, cap?"

Before Jack could reply, a smug voice cackled," Are ya saying ya don't already know? I can't say I'm not surprised."

"Dear me, what is that unpleasant aroma?" Race smirked, evidently knowing who was on the approach," Has a troll snuck onto school grounds again?"

Elmer, the Gryffindor keeper, snickered," Or...could it be..."

"The Delancey brothers," The two finished in unison, earning a round of chuckles from the teams around them.

The Delancey brothers, Oscar and Morris, had quite the reputation at Hogwarts. They were the scariest pair of beaters at Hogwarts, not because of their skill, but because of their habit to injure other students. Rumor has it that they were the ones that broke Katherine's arm, but if you brought it up, they would make you regret it. Morris, being the older of the two, was co-captain of the Slytherin quidditch team, giving him more control than anybody was comfortable with," That was a funny joke, Race," Morris replied much too casually for anybody's comfort," I just can't wait to see if you're still laughing when you find out quidditch has been banned."

Everyone was deathly silent in a millisecond with the students either looking at their captains for guidance and glaring at the Delanceys," Very funny, Morris," Albert growled," If that was true, why would we be here?"

"He's telling the truth," Davey mumbled quietly, wincing at the betrayed look he received from his co-captain. The air of defeat hung heavily over the former quidditch players with crushed dreams fogging their minds. Why did this have to happen? Davey didn't think he could feel worse than he already did, but seeing the devastated expressions on his team's faces-

"So what are we gonna do about it?"

The familiar voice yanked Davey right out of his thoughts as he turned to see his little brother, Les, standing with the Gryffindor team. Unlike his two older siblings, Les was not sorted into Ravenclaw and instead put into Gryffindor. Since his sorting, Davey watched his brother grow into a more straightforward and blunt person, which made him worry in situations like this," Les? What are you-how did you-are you on the team?"

Jack chuckled at the Ravenclaw's confusion," Yeah, your little brother is pretty skilled on the broom. I paired him up with Race as a beater."

"He's a beater?!" Davey grabbed his little brother by the shoulder and pulled him away from the other captain," He's only eleven! What if he gets hurt?"

"That's why I paired him with Race. He's in good hands."

"...You just said that Race caught the field on fire."

"Daaavveeeyy," Les groaned," I'm not a first year anymore. You don't have to baby me."

"This is getting off topic," Smalls interrupted," As funny as it is to watch people insult Race-"

"Gee, thanks Smalls."

"-I agree with the kid," She finished, sending a glare towards Race for interrupting her," Are we just going to sit and take this?"

Davey opened his mouth to tell her to give up, but Jack spoke up," Hold on, I think you're onto something...," The Gryffindor captain began to pace back and forth, the eyes of the quidditch students following him expectantly," What if...we ignore them and play anyway?"

"No can do," Oscar chuckled," They've already confiscated the brooms."

"Wait, what?!" Race shot up like a firecracker," They can't take my broom! I spent every penny I had on it! That's stealing!"

The slytherin leered at the boy," Something a street rat like you should be used to already-"

"Who're you calling a street rat?!"

"QUIET!" The two broke apart to find Les glaring at them," Jack's gonna find a solution, but he can't do that if you're all yelling at each other! Let the man work it out!"

Davey tried to suppress twang of jealousy that struck him when Les defended the Gryffindor captain, instead focusing on said boy. Jack's eyebrows were furrowed once more, thinking harder than Davey thought was possible from him.

And apparently he wasn't the only one curious to see what the boy would come up with. Crutchie was smiling encouragingly, Albert was watching intently, and even Katherine seemed interested," Hey Jack," After what felt like an eternity, Les broke the silence," Are you still thinking?"

"Sure he is," Race snickered," Can't you smell the smoke?"

"You're one to talk," Smalls sent a pointed look to the previously snuffed out cigarette no the ground, earning a few chuckles from the surrounding students.

"Okay," Jack spoke up at long last, motioning for the students to gather around him," We don't get quidditch, we don't get anything. We'll stop going to classes, stop participating in extracurriculars; we'll make it so they can't ignore us."

Davey felt his stomach clench nervously," You mean like a strike?"

"You heard Davey, we're going on strike!"

There was a brief moment of silence before they exploded in a mixture of different reactions. The general consensus seemed to be that nobody wanted to get expelled, and that seemed to be the only outcome of going on strike. Only Jack, Les, and Smalls seemed to be immediately onboard with the idea," What if they call the cops?" Henry, Smalls's fellow beater, pointed out," We could get in a lot of trouble."

Jack scoffed," They're not gonna care about a bunch of kids. Right, Davey?"

"Hey, you leave me out of this," Davey reached for his brother's hand and tried to pull him away from the crowd, only to get shaken off from the little boy," We can't get expelled, my parents would kill me!"

Jack was quick to follow him," And what, the rest of us are here on playtime? I know that some of us may have a rotten reputation here, but if we don't stand together, we'll lose quidditch for good."

"And if we all stand together, they can't get rid of all of us," Crutchie said slowly, gaining bright smiles from Jack and Smalls," I'd risk it for Quidditch."

"As fun as this little hurrah is, I have to get back to class," Morris turned his back on the crowd and began to walk away with his brother," Feel free to join us if you have any common sense."

Much to Jack's dismay, people began to trickle away after them. Molly, a seventh year gryffindor chaser, grabbed one of the younger members and sent Jack a glare for trying to sign them up for trouble. They were quickly followed by two Ravenclaw students Jack didn't recognize and the entire Slytherin team. Katherine herself sent Davey an apologetic look before following them out. By the time the traitors had cleared, all that was left were about 20 students. Jack counted himself, Les, Race, Finch, and Elmer for the Gryffindor team. Crutchie stood proudly with his entire Hufflepuff team, which consisted of himself, Smalls, Kid Blink, Henry, Buttons, Dutchey, and Mush. Davey was relieved that Albert, Sniper, Skittery, and Specs had decided against their better judgement and stood behind with him. They seemed to be waiting to hear what he said regarding the matter before they made their final decision.

After much deliberation, Davey finally spoke up," Look, you can't go on strike if you don't have a union, and we can't be a union because we're students."

"That's stupid!" Smalls protested, earning herself an elbow to the side from Crutchie," But it is," She complained more quietly this time.

"Okay, so let's put together a protest instead."

The Ravenclaw wasn't ready to give up," Oh really? Who will lead said protest, huh?"

Crutchie rose his hand enthusiastically," I nominate Jack."

"What about a statement of purpose?"

The brunet seemed to be tiring of Davey's endless stream of questions," I must have left them in my other pair of pants."

"Uh," Race rose his hand as if he was a student in a classroom," What's a statement of purpose?"

"A reason to go on strike," Sniper answered, gaining an appreciative look from Davey. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one who knew what was going on," And while I'm sure it's not really my place to say it, we do have a reason. We should not have our superiors making important decisions without concerning us beforehand."

The support, however small it was, seemed to ease some of the tension Davey had not noticed Jack was holding in," Exactly. Union'd we stand," With a small smile, he turned to face his team," Hey, that's not bad. Somebody should write this down."

Les pulled a writing utensil out of his pocket," I've got a quill!"

"Well, meet our new secretary of state!" The students around him either laughed or played along by clapping," So, what do we do now?"

The group turned to Sniper, who shrugged cluelessly and tilted her head back towards Davey. She probably knew, but it seemed that this was a subliminal way to try and get him involved. Davey swore that sometimes his team was too smart for him,"...You gotta have a vote."

"Well then, let's vote! All in favor of starting a class strike, raise your hands," Everybody left seemed onboard by this point and fervently followed his command," Alright then, it's settled! We're on strike!" He was met with confident cheers," So what's next?"

Crutchie motioned towards Hogwarts with an excited by nervous smile on his face," Shouldn't we tell someone in charge?"

As expected, Race was the first one to try and charge the building," It would be my pleasure to tell Weasel myself!"

Albert rolled his eyes and pulled the beater back by his shoulder," What about Pulitzer, huh? He's the one who has been publishing lies about the sport?"

Jack shrugged,"...What do you think, Davey?"

The group, once again, turned expectantly to face him," I don't know...," They were past waiting for his approval, for they seemed to believe that he was on their side. That was ridiculous! How would it look if the top student and prefect completely disregarded the rules and purposely skipped classes? He had worked so hard...

But was it worth losing quidditch? Sure, he loved the sport as much as the next guy, but he had never had a personal connection to the game. Nothing he felt concerning flying came even close to the personal attachment that Jack and Crutchie had to it. What would happen to them if quidditch disappeared? What about Les?

He made the mistake of looking at his little brother. The boy had so much hope in his eyes; he would be crushed if Davey left. If he supported the strike, his little brother would be able to play quidditch for years to come,"...I guess you do, Mr. President!"

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 **Davey's on board! Now, I know what you might be thinking; why did Katherine leave? Isn't she a part of the strike? That will be explained in the next chapter. Both Smalls and Sniper are girls in this au because I needed more girls (and I love them), but everyone else's gender is the same. I will be honest, I originally had Specs as the co-captain until I watched Newsies Live: Albert had a much bigger presence than I originally thought, so I decided to switch them out. Also, Albert doesn't get as much love as he deserves.**

 **As usual, feel free to comment anything! I love to hear your feedback and will respond to it in the next chapter if you have any questions. Thanks for reading, and see ya next time!**

 **-uprisingdragon**


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